MIR 1B 37mm f/2.8-16.0

Lens category

Wide

Vendor name

MIR

Type name

1B

Focal min (mm)

37

Focal max (mm)

37

Focus min (cm)

0

Aperture max

2.8

Aperture min

16

Filter size (mm)

49

The current version of the Mir-1 is known as the “Mir-1V” (or “Mir-1B” in deference to the original cyrillic marking). The optical formulae on either lens appears to be the same as the original Mir-1. There may be some coating quality differences, and of course, the most obvious difference is the lens mount.

The lens is still made today by KMZ in Russia. When buying the lens, make sure it says “MIR-1B” or MIR-1V” if you’re planning to use it in an M42 camera. Many Mir-1 are in the older Zenit M-39 mount and will not mount properly in an M42 slr without an adapter.

The lens requires a good lens hood when shooting into the sun. The 37mm focal length may seem a bit odd, but its field is comparable to a 35mm lens. In fact many 35mm lenses have real focal lengths which are longer than marked. The Mir-1V just happens to be candid and honest about it.

A photo below shows how the Mir-1V flares when used ‘contre-jour’ without using a lens-hood. (JyJ)

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Mir-1V. One thing I noticed with Russian objectives is the saturated way they render colours. Even the simplest lenses do this. The old lenses also have high colour contrast- even when they were designed and made at a time when photography was almost exclusively BW.

Mir-1V on a Canon 300D. Canon cameras allow some form of exposure automation even with adapted lenses. This was shot with the camera set to aperture-priority. The colour rendering of the lens is really superb. It also made interesting reflections on water, something wihich modern lenses with multi-coating cannot do.

A 37mm on a DSLR is just like having a 50mm on a regular film SLR. Having this lens alone, instead of the usual zoom, is very refreshing. It threw me back to the time when I could only use 50mm objectives on cameras. This situation forces
‘discipline’ and careful composition- as opposed to the freewheeling situations associated with zoom lenses.

Mir-1V. Again, adapted on a digital 300D. A plastic HOLGA Magenta-coloured filter was attached to the lens. The Mir-1V and the Holga camera (a toy plastic camera) lens barrel are of the same diameter so the slip-on filter holder fits.